Rating: 
Summary: Running Feet
Review: I'm reviewing Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinell. I rate this book five stars because it teaches you not to stereotype. This book is about a kid named Jeffery who is a foster child. Jeffrey Magee tries to be a friend with a black girl named Amanda. Everyone in the west end thinks Jeffery is crazy for trying to make friends with a black girl. This is because he is white. I think this book is good for children and adults. This book teaches a lesson. This book you will remember for the rest of your life. START READING!
Rating:
Summary: Running Away, and Conquering Racism
Review: In Spinelli's adventure and moral filled novel, 'Maniac Magee,' Jeffrey Lionel Magee is an eleven year old who endured the sudden and tragic death of his parents at age three. When his parents pass away, he is taken to live with his Aunt Dot and Uncle Dan. After eight years, Jeffrey decides to run away because his aunt and uncle do not get along, and they never talk to one another. Jeffrey, whose name changes to, Maniac Magee, runs from Hollidaysburg to Two Mills, a distance of two hundred miles. Throughout the book, Maniac does not have a consistent place to live, always searching for that place he can call, 'home.' The only place he felt at home was at the Beale's house, where he finally had an address and people who cared about him. It is at the Beale's that Maniac discovers racial prejudice. The town of Two Mills is even divided between the races. This becomes a very personal issue for Maniac, who is a 'white' boy living on the, 'black,' side of town. Maniac realizes that both races are ignorant about the other race, feeling threatened. So, Maniac sets out on a mission to resolve the long-standing racial tensions in the small town. Is Maniac successful in blurring the racial lines that have been drawn? Or, does he find himself running away from Two Mills also? I was very pleased with Spinelli's book, 'Maniac Magee.' He does an excellent job addressing a very serious and touchy subject of racism in a unique and non-threatening way. I love the fact that the hero of the story and the one that makes the difference for the whole town is an eleven year old boy. This sends a positive and clear message to the reader, that every person can make a difference. This is a very important message to relate to children who may feel that because of their age and ability they cannot make any difference.
I also love Spinelli's style of writing. I have not read any other books by Spinelli in the past, but I noticed in this particular book that his writing style varies within the book. At times he is straightforward and blunt, at other times he appeals to the adventurous side of the reader, and at other times he even writes in a poetic manner. This poetic writing I am talking about could be found in Spinelli's description of winter.
I appreciate that, 'Maniac Magee,' addresses several morals within one bigger moral. Obviously, the main issue that the book addresses is the issues of racism. But, I also felt like the author wanted the reader to realize that home is something that is valuable, and sometimes something you have to look for, but never take for granted. I also think the author was trying to say that it is okay to be different, and to stand up for what you believe in.
Rating: 
Summary: Maniac Magee review
Review: This story about a ... shall we say different child, Jeffery Magee, in a racist torn town with seperation between blacks and whites. Pretty much all he is considered good for is untying knots and running. His parents got killed and he is out there all by himself. He joins a black family for a while, then moves into a baseball supply closet with an older male friend. Sleeping with the buffaloes at the zoo was not uncommon for him. Basically, this book focuses on survival and how hard it can be to find a truly loving family. I highly recommend reading this excellent tale of friendship and survival.
Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: I think that the book Maniac Magee BY Jerry Spinelli is a really great book because it's exciting and funny right form the beginning and it also tells you not to judge any one by the way they look or act. Maniac Magee is a boy who losses his parents in a car crash when he was three years old. That's when he went to live with his Uncle Dan and aunt Dot in Hollidaysburg, western part of Pennsylvania. His uncle and aunt couldn't stand each other but they wouldn't get a divorce based on their religion. It was eight years of that for Maniac until one day he couldn't take it and that's when the running began. He ran from Hollidaysburg to Two Mills. Every time he ran and he'd see someone he would say "Hi" just that "Hi" no one really know why he just would. One day as he was running he ran into a girl named Amanda, with books in her hand. He asked her where she was heading she said to school. Maniac asked her for one of her books and she gave it to him. After that they became friends there was just one problem she was black. Every one knows whites and blacks can't be friends. So from there on they were made fun of and Maniac couldn't take it and that's when he ran form that neighborhood. He ran until it was dark and that's when he fell asleep in the zoo his new home. The zoo keeper would always see him and would ask him to live with him and Maniac would say "NO." It was fall and the days were getting cold and Grayson the zoo keeper asked him again and Maniac said 'YES.' They lived together for a while until one day Grayson past always. When Amanda found out what had happened she went to find Maniac to tell him to go home with her, but she couldn't convince him. That's when she went back to find a friend to help her convince him and you'll be surprised who it is and where Maniac goes to live with..
Rating:
Summary: Run to this book
Review: The story I read was Maniac Magee and the author was Jerry Spinelli. In the beginning, Jeffrey lived with his parents, but his parents left him with a babysitter. Mrs. and Mr. Magee took the P&W high-speed trolley, but it crashed and they died. Then Maniac met Amanda Beale. Maniac wanted to borrow a book, but Amanda would have been late for school. So, Amanda hurried and gave him a book. After a while Maniac was living with the Beales. But, Maniac left and he had to go back living with his Aunt Dot and Uncle Dan. Once, again he moved in with the McNabs. If you want to find out the rest of the book read it. I scored this book with five stars. That is how much I liked the book.
Rating:
Summary: Maniac Magee
Review: Maniac Magee is a wonderful book. It was great, Once I started reading it I was hooked for the rest of the book. I liked how Maniac even though he was small he could do things that other bigger kids didn't. It gave a chance for the short people to be better than everybody else at something. It is about a boy orphand when he was only three years old. He is sent to live with his closest relatives. He can't stand them. His relatives argued a lot and stopped talking to each other. He Loves to run, he better at things than any other kid and he prooves it. It shows that even thought he is good at everything he has feelings too. I really liked it, I will tell everybody I know to read this book. It is intended for mainly teenagers.
Rating:
Summary: Bridge between two ethnic backgrounds
Review: Personally, I liked this book a lot. It was inventive, insightful, and very entertaining. It was pretty easy to read, and a very short book.
I liked that it focused on the separation of the two ethnic backgrounds. And, that Maniac Magee was able to be the bridge between them. And, it was kind of comical when one person of one ethnicy would stop at the division (Hector Street) and not want Maniac to go farther, thinking that he would get hurt.
But, as in all books, there are some cons also. The thing I didn't like is when he did something he was always the best at it, especially when he had never practiced something. E.g. when he caught the football from Hands, or when he could beat the fastest kid on the block, or when he could hit off the best pitcher with a book in his hand. It just bothered me that he could do all that without practicing at all.
All, in all it was a very well thought-out book, and I would recommend it to anybody that likes fictional books about extraordinary events.
Rating:
Summary: review of Maniac Magee
Review: Jimmy Teeter
ELA 8
Review of Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
10/1/03 The book I read is Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli. This story is about a kid named Maniac, whose parents died. Forcing him to live with his aunt and uncle who don't get along at all. Maniac couldn't take it anymore and he ran away until he got to a troubled town, called Two Mills. It was troubled because the blacks and white don't get along and they split up the town whites on east. And the blacks on the west. He spent his time trying to help the black and white kids to get along so the kids could tell the adults to get along. He helped characters who came along. I really liked this book. In Two Mills that is where the story really begins. This has a lot of different characters and some become friends of Maniacs. His first friend he meets there is Amanda Bielle. That is where he has a real family. So he stays in Two Mills for a while. He goes there when ever he wants. Then he decides to live there. But then there are twists when he meets different kinds of people.
The book had a good beginning, middle, and end. In this paragraph I will tell you why I like this story. Maniac is always helping other characters when he's in Two Mills. The characters came an go. He was feeling that he belonged in Two Mills. Then, he felt he didn't belong there. He kept changing his mind about living there. Near the end he finally found a family. That is why I like the book so much. He lived with the first person met and that is Amanda Bielle for awhile then he left because of the kids on the west side ruining his life and the people he was living with. Maniac is always running from place to place and stops at Two Mills. He helps a lot of different characters but they help him to. The story really begins in Two Mills. In the town he feels that he belongs there but the kids on the west side terrorize him and Amanda Bielle who he lives with in Two Mills on the west side. He doesn't want her to get hurt. So he runs away from Two Mills. Then later he comes back to try to help the
Rating: 
Summary: manic Magee
Review: At the beginning of the story, Maniac was living with his Aunt Dot and Uncle Dan. He then started running for his freedom. Later in the story he meets up with various characters such as Amanda Beale, Mars Bar and the Finsterwalds and other characters that helped him to unite the town. Workin with other people he also accomplished many of his most of his gaols in life.
Rating: 
Summary: A Book with a Boring Touch
Review: Maniac Magee is a book all about a boy and his many adventures. Not a lot of main characters. Maybe a lot of supporting characters but only one main character. From him out running the fastest boy in the neighborhood to punting a football from the best football thrower in the neighborhood. He's just a boy looking for a home and trying to find the right one. Overall this book is mostly likely just going to waste your time. Some of the material is not appropriate for kids under the age of 9.
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